The Puppet Master
by MaleficGhoul
Summary: The following tale is a retelling of King Diamond's concept album entitled "The Puppet Master", but with Naruto characters in place of the original characters. A young boy learning puppet jutsu hears about a magnificent puppet show in a far away land and decides to travel and witness it for himself. What follows is a grim tale of love, enslavement, and a living nightmare.
1. Chapter 1: Late Night in Budapest

**Chapter 1 – Late Night in Budapest**

I hear the clock strike the hour of midnight as I catch a glimpse of snow beginning to fall to the ground. Normally a sight like this would be pleasant and I'd be goofing around and making a mockery of myself in such weather, but that's not easy to do when you've been nailed to a wall to hang for days on end. Even so, the sight of fresh snow would brighten the mood if it didn't remind me of all the horrors and dreadful memories that are engraved into this breathing wooden shell of mine. The snow makes me remember the living nightmare in which life ceased behind my eyes, well, at least behind my eye sockets. There's not much one can do as a mere object hanging on a wall. I can only recollect on the past. They could have made me into a stern effigy that could be honored, or even a child's plaything that's destined to exist among stuffed animals for eternity. But no, instead of being something with the slightest bit of dignity, I am a wooden slave; a dancing clown who can't even take his own makeup off. My soul is intact, but as far as I'm concerned I'm dead. At least I had a small grasp of life when I could still see her. No. No I _**WILL**_ see her again! I _**WILL**_ find a way out of this mess and get her back! It wasn't always like this; there must be some way to reverse all of this! I'll make them pay.

Shit, I can hear the crowd. They're ready and waiting above. Midnight: it's time for the show.

It all started on a late night in Budapest. I caught word of how amazing puppet shows were outside of the land I knew, so I took a trip to see for myself. As soon as I found the puppet theater, I discovered the line stretched around several street blocks. People from all over the world must have come to this place! I found a spot in line and waited for what seemed like days, surrounded by some of the weirdest I have ever seen before. Most were lonesome looking people dressed in large overcoats and scarves, concealing most of their features. The few faces I was able to catch slight glimpses of seemed, inhuman. Not inhuman in the sense that they looked like ghouls or demons, but inhuman in the sense that they had no souls or emotion. There seemed to be no life present in their eyes, almost as if they were not made of flesh. Ah, who am I kidding, it was probably my imagination getting the best of me. They were probably just as pissed off and irritated I was from waiting in a seemingly endless line, and the cold winter air has taken its toll on their skin. After what seemed like an entire night, the line began to move. It was moving as fast as a dried up slug, but at least I was one step closer to marveling at the show to come. It was in the slug line that I caught my first glimpse of her. She was standing about ten spaces in front of me, and her mid length pink hair stood out from the repetitive colors of black and brown in the endless line. Something caused her to turn my way for a few seconds, but when she briefly turned her head around I thought I saw a glimpse of magic within two large green eyes. Although eye contact only lasted for a second and a half, the eyes almost seemed to look me in the dead center of my pupils and mock me. It was quite a strange feeling I had but I had more interesting things to think about. Still though, the image of the young girl penetrated my mind every so often for the rest of the night. After an hour of moving at a snail's pace, I was inside the puppet theater.

If the folks outside seemed creepy, the ticket handler seemed like a nightmare come to life. It was a woman, around age fifty by the looks of it, yet she had the long and bony hands of a corpse and sounded even worse than that with creaky witch-like voice you only hear in stories. "That'll be sixy dollars little boyyy. Heheheheheh *cough* *gag* you look like you could use a **GOOD **seat my love." I tried by best to not gag myself at the putrid odor coming from the torn coat and rags she was wearing while I quickly handed her the money. "I'm suuuure you'll find the right seat doll, they always dooooo, heh." Even before she was done speaking I bolted for the theater doors, unwilling to get creeped out any longer. After paying a fortune, I was wandering around theater desperately trying to find a seat but it seemed as if they were all taken. In the back of my mind I was hoping for a seat near the strange girl from before, but it seemed like she vanished completely from sight. I got a strange feeling throughout my body and some kind of force seemed to push me in the direction towards the center of the theater. Brushing it off as my imagination and drowsiness again, I soon locked my eyes onto an empty seat located in the center of the theater. It seemed too good to be true, so I snatched it before anyone else could. It felt as if the seat was meant to be taken by me, as if it called out to me as soon as I entered the theater.

The wait time was surprisingly shorter than I expected, only roughly five minutes. This was a relief, as I waited long enough today. Now it was time to put all bullshit aside and witness what I came here for. Right before the curtain began to rise up from the floor like a velvet flame, a line of gas lamps along the edge of the stage magically lit up. Since I was from the village of Konohagakure, little tricks like this had no effect on me whatsoever, as the many ninjas of the village are able to do much more than just make little lamps light up on command. Everyone around me must have not been use to little ninja tricks and jutsu's since they were all sitting like statues with their mouths agape in marvel at the gas lamps. The velvet flame soon disappeared at the ceiling to reveal a vacant and dead stage; no sign of any forms, human or otherwise anywhere in sight. Many thoughts went through my mind (other than the strange pink haired girl) such as the puppet master being late, perhaps making us wait even longer to make us want the performance so bad that we'd be begging at our knees to see this marvelous show. Those thoughts soon were quelled and logic took a grasp over my mind; what kind of performer would be sick enough in the head torture their audience by making them wait hours on end? As soon as the crowd started talking amongst each other and started to sound like a group of squawking black birds, there was an abrupt wooden sound and everyone's head immediately turned to the stage and their mouths seemed to sew themselves shut at the sight of wooden limbs peaking behind the curtains.

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**Note: I know this chapter is a little slow, but I promise it'll get better! Feel free to review though, it's greatly appreciated.**


	2. Chapter 2: A Night to Remember

**Hello readers! First of all, I sincerely apologize for not updating this story in a REALLY long time. I got tied up with school, then moving, then writing other material and neglected this story. Second, the story will get better from here on due to more juicy details and plot. And third, I do not own any bit of Naruto nor do I own any of King Diamond's 'The Puppet Master'**

**Enjoy, and expect more frequent updates!  
**

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**Chapter 2**

_A Night to Remember_

When someone sees a puppet, they can usually tell that it's a puppet as soon as they see it move, even if the puppet is far away, but what I saw that night did not look like puppets walking across the stage. In fact, whatever was on the stage merely had the appearance of a puppet. Three wooden bodies slowly crept from beyond the curtain.

In the ninja world, battle puppets can move in ways traditional entertainment puppets cannot. Though puppet use is not a popular skill, it is widely known as a difficult talent to learn. This is why I was here in the first place after all; I wanted to learn how to use puppets more efficiently in battle, though I never would have imagined puppets could mimic human movement so accurately. Even the most skilled puppet masters in the ninja world couldn't make puppets move _**exactly**_ like people. Whoever this puppet master was, I had to meet him or her. Instead, however, I should have left then and there for my own good and well being.

Once the puppets began to shamble onstage, some demented circus music started playing. Normally you would hear this kind of tune at a carnival and it would add to the fun atmosphere, but in this morbid setting it only made everyone uneasy in their seats.

The first puppet reminded me of someone that I saw at the chunin exams a few years back, someone who really gave me the creeps. His name was Kankyra or Kanketo or something like that. All I know was that he hailed from the Sand village and was a puppet user himself. Though I never got to fight him, I knew he wasn't a push over, and now I was seeing a puppet that looked almost like him, or so I thought at the time. This puppet wore a black body suit which exposed only face and hands, and even the hands were clad in black fingerless gloves. The top of the hooded part ended in two points that reminded me of bat ears which looked down right comical. I would have laughed, but the puppet's face prevented me from doing so; the puppet wore the same kind of purple face paint the Kank guy wore.

In my confusion, I was able to spot the pink-haired girl who was sitting in the same row I was, just six seats to my right. How I didn't notice her in my row was beyond me, but that wasn't really important at the moment. The most important thing on my mind was how the hell this puppet in this far away land looked exactly like a Sand ninja. Everyone around me was in shock of how disturbingly real the puppet looked.

The eyes are what got me. Though I wasn't too close to the stage I could see its eyes; _**real **_eyes.

Its face wore an emotionless smile, something that was obviously carved, but the haunting eyes looked real and tortured as bloodshot capillaries decorated their surfaces. The eyes seemed to move on their own and examine the crowd frantically, as if trying to desperately call out for help. I looked over at the pink-haired girl and she looked just as uneasy as I probably did; her mouth was agape and she looked like she was on the verge of crying. As a matter of fact, a decent amount of people in the crowd wore the same expression, as if the sorrowful eyes had transferred emotions over to the crowd. The puppet's head jerked slightly to one side as it moved to the center of the stage.

Immediately after the first puppet, another one followed suit. This one was a female and looked just as realistic as it gracefully walked across the stage. Once again, déjà vu took over as I made another horrible connection.

This puppet was Temari! Or at least it looked like her. The girl who kicked Tenten's ass in the chunin exams and sister of the Kank guy was now represented as a puppet and walked across the stage in front of me. It was no mistake, I only knew of one individual who wielded a giant fan like the one in the puppet's grasp. The puppet's head twitched to the side every so often with a wooden snap, sending chills up my spine.

The Temari puppet wore a long black robe with a red sash around the waist. It even had the same hair style as the original. Her blonde hair was divided up into four short pony tails on the back of her head. Once again, eyes which seemed to have a will of their own scouted the crowd and were punctuated with gruesome red capillaries. This puppet looked as if it was ready to cry blood as its head twitched and stared me down. A forced ear-to-ear grin was slashed and painted on her face.

Once the Temari puppet was in the center of the stage alongside the Kank puppet and both stared down the crowd, a light drum beat could be heard which quickly began to rise in volume. A third figure was on its way and once I saw it, I should have left my seat immediately.

With a snare drum strapped over its shoulders, the third life-like puppet emerged from the darkness as it played a simple beat. As soon as I laid eyes on it I felt my heart drop. The third puppet was none other than Gaara, the one tails Jinchuriki. Not only did the puppet have the signature hair and eyes of Gaara, but it even had the symbol branded on his forehead. Just what the fuck was going on here?

Once again, the eyes conveyed torture and grief onto all of us in the crowd as its body was at the mercy of the puppet master, wherever he or she was hidden.

For the next hour or so, though it only seemed like several minutes, the puppets danced and paraded around the stage as if they had no strings attached at all. I'm almost positive the puppets were doing more spectacular things than just dancing and jumping, but I could not focus on anything but their fluid movement. Though the slight glimmer of the strings was visible, it was hard to believe that they weren't moving on their own. The movements looked as if three people were dancing and leaping through the air. The fact that all three figures were nothing but wood was quite disturbing.

Suddenly I looked up and saw a dark figure with outstretched arms on a walkway high above the stage. The figure's hands and fingers were moving so quickly that I could not keep up with the movements. Whoever this was, they were truly a puppet master, and by the look of their shadow, they appeared to be quite odd looking as well. The puppet master appeared to be shorter than your average person, yet they looked like they were quite stocky. I would have been able to make out more if only it wasn't wearing some kind of cloak or robe. I was in for one hell of a surprise when I got to see them up close later that night.

I wasn't sure to whether the master was trying to be seen, or was just careless, but soon everyone took notice of its form.

Soon after realizing the crowd, the puppet master did something that I would never forget. With a few flicks of the master's fingers, the puppets simultaneously bowed their heads, raised one leg each and stood completely still as the puppet master severed the strings! The crowd gasped in shock as these puppets stood in front of them with no strings attached. To everyone's confusion, the puppets continued to waltz around the stage just as they did earlier, but with no strings! It was astonishing, but also very unsettling. Several older women in the crowd fainted from this disturbing trick. It didn't matter how the master was making the puppets do this, I had to find out.

As the life-size puppets continued to put on their show, the Gaara drummer boy glanced over and I could have sworn that it looked me dead in the eye. It almost felt as if the puppet wanted to utter the words '_help me' _yet its carved smile prevented it from doing so. I dismissed it at the time; perhaps this puppet master had visited the ninja world and had based some puppets off some ninja he or she came into contact with. That _**had **_to be the reason why I was seeing Temari, Gaara, and Kank in puppet form. Or otherwise….

Before I could finish my thought at the moment, I saw something on Gaara's hand. At first I thought it was some kind of decoration but then I realized what it was. On the puppets hand, blood was flowing out of a small cut. At the time I thought it was some kind of trick, but something just didn't feel right. It was obvious by the way the puppets looked that they weren't human, but how could a pile of wood bleed? I would soon find the answer to that, at the cost of many other things…

The string-less puppets almost immediately stopped all movement as their master dropped down from to rafters and onto center stage. I was pretty sure the puppet master was male, though most of the face was covered up with a black bandana-like cloth. He lurched over, as if he had a giant hump on his back, and concealed both arms within a black cloak. The top half of his head, which was the only visible part of his surface, was tan and had five stripes of hair streaming along the top which each ended in a flip towards the rear. Though his eyes were not tortured like the puppet's eyes, the puppet master held a scornful look in his gaze as he examined the audience. The three puppets were gathered around the master the same way three loyal children would crowd around their father. With one outstretched hand, the puppet master rested his palm on Gaara and gave the puppet a pat on the head, something dog owners would do to reward their trusting canines. Whoever, or whatever it was, I needed to find out how the puppets functioned and how they were designed from the sand siblings.

"Thank you for attending the show tonight," Bellowed the puppet master in a thick and gruff tone, "but I now have important matters to attend to, so you all must leave immediately. Be quick about it, I am not a patient man."

Most of the audience was still in shock from the morbid puppet show, but after a few seconds everyone snapped back to reality and stood up. The audience proceeded to incite a round of applause loud enough to shake the entire theater. Despite his rude and creepy demeanor, the puppet master was basking in the limelight. Shortly after the uproar, the curtain fell and the puppet master and his creations were gone completely.

…

Exiting the theater was much easier than entering, seeing that I did not have to get hit on by some creepy old crone who was selling tickets at the cost of a hand and foot, and everyone seemed to exit the theater in an organized and calm manner. Maybe it was the shock of seeing such odd events, but it seemed like everyone in the crowd was in a trance, save for myself. I guess after you witness enough people summon giant animals and shoot fire balls out of their mouths on a regular basis you develop immunity towards abnormal occurrences.

Outside the theater was much more chaotic as everyone headed off in different directions. I wasn't going anywhere, however, as I still had to acquire some important information. Since the sky was now pitch black and the street lights around the area were fairly dim, I essentially had to blindly shove my way through the living sea to find a way to renter the theater, preferably through a side or back door.

Just as I caught a glimpse of a possible entrance though an alleyway, I crashed right into a form that was walking in the opposite direction that I was. I was about to whip my head up and give whoever this was hell, but then I realized that something about this figure seemed very familiar. With my vision fixed at the ground, I saw that this person was wearing knee-high black boots which looked quite attractive on their thin feminine legs. I'm sure there were plenty of other young women who wore black boots that night, but not many would be crazy enough to have nothing covering their toes. Even if boot-sandals existed over here, I'm sure no one would wear them in this cold weather, especially with shorts. By my knowledge, only those from the ninja world wore such shoes…

Whipping my head up, I came face to face with the pink-haired girl, her green eyes seemed to be glowing even in the semidarkness. Her youthful face looked slightly baffled, seeing that she wasn't the only one crazy enough to wear the toe-less ninja boots, signifying I was a ninja too. She had a plain brown cape draped over her shoulders, but I could easily see that she was wearing a light red and pink outfit, something that was more suited for warm climates.

"O-Oh, I'm sorry. I must have not been paying attention." I managed to say in a single breath.

The girl gave me a quick closed-eye smile, signifying that she accepted my apology.

"Well, I was going to bitch you out, but since you apologized, I think I can let it slide this time." Said the girl with a cheerful tone.

Almost immediately she spotted my forehead protector, which I always wore around my arm, making it more of an 'arm protector' than anything else.

"I see you're from the hidden leaf, huh?" Questioned the girl.

How I didn't notice her Konoha headband before was a question within itself, but I soon saw it brandished on her head, where such an item _**should **_be.

"I see that we could be neighbors." I said with a small smile.

The girl delivered another closed-eye smile and outstretched her hand as the living sea of people parted around the two of us.

"My name's Sakura Haruno, pleased to meet you."

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**Two Hidden Leaf ninja in a far away land where things are not always what they seem…what will happen next in this strange city?**


	3. Chapter 3: After the Show

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or "The Puppet Master" by King Diamond**

**Chapter 3**

_After the Show_

Sakura Haruno was a name that shot through my memory and gathered only minimal results. I looked at the girl in question and pondered just who she was. Sakura looked at me with a look of awkward confusion as I was lost in thought. After several seconds of awkwardness I finally had it.

"I remember you! I remember seeing you in the chunin exams a few years ago. My name's Sevarg, pleased to meet you too." I exclaimed as I grabbed her outstretched hand.

It all came back to me; the pink hair, the green eyes, it couldn't be any more obvious. I remember back in the day she was quite the weakling and had a forehead that made her look like an alien, though now she had grown up. Her forehead was still on the larger side, but it seemed like she grew into it. Not only was her handshake strong, but she gave off a certain vibe that made her seem like she wasn't a weak kunoichi in training anymore.

"Sevarg, huh?" Sakura said as she pondered to herself for a moment, "I remember you too! You're a puppet user, right?"

"Looks like you have a better memory than I do," I said as I released her hand, "now I must ask why someone like you is out here tonight?"

Almost immediately Sakura's friendly aura faded and was replaced with worry and concern.

"Well, um, I can't say in public like this. How about you join me for a coffee down the street or something and I'll tell you?"

"It's been a while since I've been asked on a date." I sneered with a grin. Sakura's pale skin flushed almost immediately at the word 'date.'

"What? No, I didn't mean it like that!" The girl said as she waved her hands in disagreement. From what I've heard, the girl would lose her temper at a remark like that, but something about her was off, or so it seemed.

"Well, suit yourself. But as much as I'd like to spend an evening with a pretty girl, I have to find out a few things from the puppet master himself."

"I wouldn't do that if I were you." Sakura said with a stern tone. She was still slightly blushed from the 'pretty' comment.

"And why's that?" I managed to say while avoiding a heavy set man heading opposite of me.

"Are you stupid? I told you I need privacy to tell you this crap! Plus the puppet master will be around for at least another day," Grunted Sakura, who was now growing impatient.

It appeared as if every single person who had emerged from the theater vanished from sight. There were a few people left on the street, but they seemed like they were ghosts and began to slowly vanish into the darkness too. It was only Sakura and I, and we knew that what witnessed in the theater wasn't magic or anything of the sort, but some type of jutsu. It had to be.

We had plenty of privacy in the dark and damp streets, but I could tell that something about the setting made Sakura uneasy. As Sakura said, the puppet master would still be here tomorrow, so I allowed myself to take up her offer.

"Well, I guess I can afford to take up your date offer, but only if you're paying." I said as Sakura became slightly more infuriated.

"Ok, whatever, you can call it a date if you want, but let's just get out of here; this place gives me the creeps."

…

The coffee shop was only a few blocks away, but seemed very secluded in the surrounding darkness. It felt nice to be sheltered from the blistering cold, but I really wanted to track down the puppet master as soon as possible. In the meantime, Sakura and I both ordered some coffee and began to chat to pass the time. Other than us, no one but two employees were present at this late hour.

Sakura removed her cape and revealed her outfit. Though she covered her hands in black gloves, the rest of her clothing was not suited for winter; she wore a red tank top and black shorts hidden underneath a light pink skirt. Though her skirt was designed to conceal weapons rather than conceal her thighs, she still had the habit of crossing her legs as we sat at a small table waiting for our order.

She looked to be only seventeen and her body was still under development, but Sakura turned out to be quite an attractive young lady. I was only a year older than her, so I was able to check her out without feeling like a complete pervert.

She almost caught me glancing at her figure but luckily one of the employees delivered our order and left.

"So," I said as I took a sip from my cup, only to quickly withdraw due to the immense heat, "what's this super secret puppet information you wanted to tell me?"

The girl whom I was just pleasantly talking to a minute ago soon turned extremely grave as she leaned in closer so no one else could hear.

"The puppet master, his name is Sasori."

Sasori was a name that definitely stood out since I used puppets; puppets that just so happened to be crafted by Sasori himself.

"Word came through that Sasori is a member of the Akatsuki, I'm sure you've heard of them," Continued Sakura.

My eyes narrowed at this statement; you had to be a fool to not know who the Akatsuki were. Everyone who lived in the ninja world knew of this group of psychotic mercenaries.

"The Akatsuki, huh," I whispered back, "I thought they were a deadly group of mercenaries. What is Konoha's interest in them?"

Sakura curled both her hands into fists as she continued.

"You know about jinchuriki?"

I nodded, giving Sakura a signal to continue. I didn't know too much about Jinchuriki, but I knew enough to get by. There are nine tailed demons in total if I'm correct and each are sealed within an unfortunate person's body. Despite this, the demons grant their prisoners colossal power. The thought of the Gaara themed puppet jumped into my head and made me feel ill at ease.

"The Akatsuki are after them. They already attacked the Hidden Sand village."

"Gaara!" I shouted aloud, grabbing the attention of one of the employees. Sakura firmly grabbed one of my shoulders to calm myself down. She knew as well as I that there was something wrong with the puppet show earlier, especially when a jinchuriki was parading onstage as a puppet.

"Listen to me," Sakura said in a low tone as her green eye gaze melted into mine, "one Akatsuki member, a young man who specialized in animated explosives, fought Gaara himself. Gaara managed to defeat him, but nearly died in the process." Sakura explained as sorrow took over her eyes.

I opened my mouth to respond, but she cut me off with the rest of the story.

"Once the bomber was dead, Sasori entered the village and began to slaughter anyone who got in his way. Eventually he claimed the lives of Kankuro and Temari, Gaara's siblings. So many people died that night…"

I reached out a hand of my own to comfort her. I could tell the whole situation was a lot to handle, especially since Kankuro and Temari were now lifeless wooden bodies on a stage. Sakura sank into her chair as she went on.

"Sasori took Gaara and fled the village and was being tracked by the remaining ninja of the village. Word came in that his trail led all the way out here."

"And what does our village have to do with this?" I inquired.

"You don't understand do you?!" Sakura lashed out at me while raising her voice slightly, "The Sand village is nearly gone. They need all the help they could find."

I couldn't say anything else. I merely sat back and let Sakura finish.

"There's ninja hidden throughout this city. I've informed them of Sasori's location and they should regroup nearby shortly."

"I'm assuming I left Konoha just before this shit went down?" I asked, confused to how I did not hear about any of this until now.

"That must have been the case," replied Sakura, "bad timing on your end I guess."

Suddenly, Sakura abruptly stood up and turned her back.

"The Leaf ninja should be gathered near the puppet theater by now. Are you coming?" She said with a low, sorrowful voice.

"Well, I still want to find out a few things from Sasori, so I guess I'll tag along."

I knew it was my duty to help my comrades, but if I knew what my fate was, I would have turned tail and went back to Konoha.

…

The streets were dead, along with a majority of the street lights, and the air was damp and cold. According to Sakura, the rendezvous point was in an alleyway not far from the theater. The tracking team was smart enough to only allow Sakura to enter the puppet theater to reduce suspicion. The reason I didn't notice her headband during the show was because she removed it to remain incognito. I guess not staying after the show was a good idea after all, or else this whole mission would have failed miserably due to my ninja garb. Well, let's just say it would have failed a whole lot sooner.

"Is this the place?" I whispered to Sakura as the two of us stalked in the shadows of surrounding buildings.

"Yeah, the team should be here any moment." The girl replied coldly.

I could tell there was a great amount of distress in her; it wasn't everyday that a teenage girl had to go after some maniac who nearly slaughtered an entire village. It wasn't everyday that an eighteen year old boy had to do it either.

The streets were completely empty at this point, yet it felt like our every footstep was being followed by someone. Our ninja boots were designed to limit the amount of noise we made with each step, yet I could hear a distant footfall mimicking me. I turned around to be confronted with absolutely nothing but hostile winter air and my own shadow.

I was about to sigh in relief, but something caught me off guard; it was my shadow.

I knew that my mid-length hair wasn't the neatest around, but my shadow showed me that it was literally everywhere. Upon inspecting, I realized that my hair was not as messy as my shadow showed. My heart was in my throat as I saw my shadow tilt its head to the side and swiftly crack it back the opposite way, just like the Temari puppet did not long ago. The sound of wood clacking against wood nearly made me gasp in fear as I turned to face Sakura who was standing not even a foot away from my face, staring into my eyes void of all emotion.

"I-I don't feel s-so good Sevarg." Groaned Sakura who was now whiter than a cleaned bone. The girl was sweating profusely and looked like she was about to keel over any second.

Oddly enough, I began to feel very uneasy too. Instantly, the air got thicker and colder and I felt some sort of presence around myself. The best way to describe it would be a ghost wrapping its limbs around my body and putting its dead face near my ear. Before I knew it, I couldn't move my own body! I have heard that a genjutsu can do things like this, but from my knowledge, that required eye contact or a special noise, and no enemies or noises were present. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't budge and it appeared that Sakura was in the same predicament. Though this sensation only lasted for a mere few seconds, it dragged out into an eternity for me. As I fought against the force, I felt alien thoughts enter my head. The thoughts were in the voice of a young male with a very ominous and angry tone.

"_KISS HER NOW."_

Against my free will, I walked forward and grabbed Sakura by the waist and drew her in close. To my dismay, she wrapped her arms around me and went along with the motions, even though I could tell by the look in her eyes that she was being forced too. We could almost communicate with our eyes and feel what the other was thinking by just staring into their pupils.

"_What the hell is going on? Why can't we move?" _I thought to myself frantically.

Before anyone of us could formulate another thought, our heads lunged forward as our lips locked with each other. Still unable to control ourselves, we both began to feel up each other's body as we continued to kiss. Whoever was doing this to us either had some sick fantasy or could read my unconscious; I would have loved to make out with Sakura, if only I wasn't forced to by some fucked up ghost.

Finally, whatever force took us hostage released us and we both collapsed to the ground in a coughing fit.

"W-wh-what just happened t-too us?" Sakura squeezed out between coughs

I wanted to answer the girl, but there was nothing important to say. Even more so, a bloodcurdling scream answered Sakura instead. It sounded as if it came from one of the deeper alleyways, but it was hard to tell.

Without a moment's notice, Sakura sprang up to her feet and ran into the darkness.

"Sakura! Wait up! Slow d-"

My throat felt like it was being choked as the ghostly possession took over, stopping me in my tracks.

"_You'll just have to wait here as I take care of that girl." _Said the voice in my head, however this time it sounded like a soft-spoken teenager with little emotion.

"_You two will become true pieces of art."  
_

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**Akatsuki? Jinchuriki puppets? Phantom** **possessions? What is in store for Sevarg and Sakura when they find Sasori?**


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